Customer Reviews

Expanding Architecture: Design as Activism

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I'm about half-way through this book and am already amazed at all the ways designers have made a difference in their local communities, and beyond. Because a range of projects, small to large, have been included it is even more inspiring to be able to imagine how one person with a good idea and the energy to implement it could have a big impact. I think that even those outside the design profession would find that some of the included projects could serve as a model for how other professions can make similar contributions. I've had other people who are not designers pick up my book and start flipping through and ask if they can read it when I finish. I can't wait to read the rest and pass it on!

Expanding Architecture Design as Activism collects thirty in-depth essays about the concept of "public-interest architecture", that is, building designs created explicitly with the benefit of the public in mind. Illustrated with full-color photography on virtually every page, individual essays discuss examples ranging from building housing or water systems to best serve the needs of a refugee population, to participatory planning in a Taiwanese mountain village that transforms an abandoned creek into swimming ponds for the village's future, to exploring different ways to create strong designs with minimal environmental impact, all at a reasonable profit. Enthusiastically recommended to anyone with a serious interest in expanding the humanitarian role of modern architecture, from professionals in the field to any concerned citizen voting on city planning projects.

This book is filled with examples of good designs that redefine architectural resources. I am challenged to share architectural ways of thinking and space making in my own town. This book shows how good design can improve the way we work and live together!

As an educator, admirer and follower of Frank Lloyd Wright, I have admired the best of contemporary architecture for many, many years. This edition brings out not only the best of current thinking, but more importantly, it holds open a welcoming door to the future. Kudos to the editors. I hope that they publish a new version every five years.
Charles Eilber,
Durham, North Carolina.